Back in the '70s, the families of construction magnate Pallonji Mistry and well-known legal luminary Iqbal Chagla were neighbours in Cuffe Parade. A happy consequence was that in 1992 Pallonji's younger son Cyrus married Chagla's daughter Rohiqa. On the wedding day, the father of the bride, Chagla raised a toast, starting with these words: "I was determined to dislike anyone who decided to marry my daughter."

Then he added a truism: "However, once you meet Cyrus, it is impossible to dislike him." It still holds two decades later; everybody seems to like the 45-year-old Cyrus Mistry. Mistry took over as chairman of Tata Sons on December 28, 2012. Since then, he has made all the right moves. "He has not taken any giant leaps, neither has he shaken the foundations of the group," says Harsh Goenka, industrialist and chairman of RPG Enterprises.

As Mistry begins his 12th month as chairman of India's largest conglomerate, in which his family led by father Pallonji Mistry owns an 18.5% stake, it's time for him and his core team to prepare a rough and ready blueprint for the second year. That plan may call for a few larger leaps, and may indeed shake some parts of the foundation.

Making the multibillion acquisition of Corus (now Tata Steel Europe) viable, for instance is one of them. Downsizing the business by mothballing some of its capacities, reckon analysts, may be the way to go. Back home Tata Motors — excluding the money-spinning Jaguar Land Rover ( JLR) — needs a refreshed portfolio to find its way back amongst India's top 5 automakers. And the power, telecom and hospitality businesses too are in need of an overhaul.

It's a daunting task; more so for a man who's still coming to grips with a 92-company group across 28 diverse sectors, even as it strategizes to enter newer businesses, like aviation. Ashok Basu, former bureaucrat and an independent director on the board of Tata Power, says: "I think he has the most formidable job in the country. But this mantle sits very lightly on his shoulders."

"Luckily, his health has held up. He has taken on a punishing schedule, whirlwind travel across the world, day trips to the Gulf countries and stuff like that," says a person who knows Mistry well. And Goenka adds: "He doesn't look stressed. But I asked him about his work-life balance and he admitted that's gone for a six."

Signals from Cyrus

Ok guys, it's time for business: Mistry needs a few of those glamorous multi-billion acquisitions to deliver. Takes the call to abort Indian Hotels' much-attempted bid for Orient Express.

Wings for aviation: It was Ratan Tata's dream, but it was Mistry who was at the forefront of the joint ventures with AirAsia and Singapore Airlines (with Tata's support).

Find some friends: Mistry has some 25 years ahead of him as chairman and needs people to grow old with him in the office. Much of the first year was spent in building his A team.

Not yet ready for banking: Took the strategic call to withdraw Tata Sons' application for a banking licence — for now.First, a Team

One of Mistry's immediate priorities after taking over at the helm was to build a team of people who will, like him, be around for some time. Although Mistry was appointed as executive deputychairman of the group in 2011 for five years, and was elevated in 2012, it is likely that Mistry will have this job for more than a quarter of a century.

Before retiring, predecessor Ratan Tata — who had the job for 21 years — had left a clean slate for Mistry, even lowering the retiring age for non-executive directors, to ensure that the old guard goes away in two to three years. Tata's first few years at the helm were spent consolidating his own position as the undisputed leader of the group and pushing out the veterans. He did not want such distractions for Mistry (after all, Tata had plenty of them when he took over and had to spend at least six of his initial years taking on — successfully — the group's satraps).